


Sixteen Years Later

by Izzielizzie



Category: One of Us Is Lying - Karen M. McManus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:13:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26103994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzielizzie/pseuds/Izzielizzie
Summary: Sixteen years later, the teenagers of Bayview, who aren't teenagers anymore, are gathering to take their families on a camping trip they had planned for months. However, they didn't plan for special guests and bad weather.
Relationships: Bronwyn Rojas/Nate Macauley, Cooper Clay/Kris Green, Maeve Rojas/Luis Santos, Phoebe Lawton/Knox Myers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 31





	Sixteen Years Later

**Author's Note:**

> This was just a fun way to write about the Bayview Four and their kids. Enjoy!

Bronwyn Rojas-Macauley wasn’t quite sure why her daughters felt the need to wake up before her, but they did. And when they couldn’t find their parents making breakfast, they took it upon themselves to barge into their room and jump on their bed until they woke up. 

“Sophie, you’re jumping on my back,” Bronwyn’s husband Nate mumbled. 

“Wake up!” Sophie, the oldest of the four girls, was the loudest. For nine years, Sophie had been quiet and calm, and her preference for books over people had reminded Bronwyn of her own sister, Maeve. However, the minute Sophie turned ten, only two months ago, she had started talking more and more, until even Uncle Luis couldn't keep up with her. 

With a groan, Bronwyn rolled over until she was facing her alarm clock. It was barely six thirty. “Girls, let us sleep until seven,” Bronwyn said, turning to look at her daughters. They all stared back at her with the solemnity Bronwyn had come to learn meant they didn’t care for what their mother was saying. 

Anna, the youngest at only four years old, looked at her mother, her grey eyes wide. “But, Mama, Anna is hungry.” Anna had not yet learned how to speak in the first person. 

Bronwyn could feel her resolve slipping under the gaze of her small daughter. She sighed. “Fine. Let’s make pancakes.”

It took more time than Bronwyn and Nate would have liked to make the pancakes, since the girls insisted on helping, which meant they were covered in eggs, flour, and butter before any batter had touched the griddle. Nate then made the mistake of mentioning the family camping trip that was occurring that evening, causing a fit of ecstasy that took a lot of bribery to subdue.

“Mama?” Nine year old Mia asked her mother once the pancakes had been cooked. 

Bronwyn looked up from eight year old Ellen’s plate, where she was pouring maple syrup.

“Yes Mia?”

“What time is Aunt Maeve coming?” 

Maeve Santos, Bronwyn’s younger sister, had the title of “favorite aunt” since Sophie was three. A well loved Spanish teacher, the wife of famous restaurant owner Luis Santos, and the mother of six year old Nick, Maeve had come far from the cancer kid Bronwyn had known her to be. 

“Um, I’m not sure. Nate?”

“Ten,” Nate answered in a strangled voice. Anna was clinging to him, as she often was. Bronwyn finished pouring the syrup for Ellen and gently pried her youngest child off her husband. 

“And what about Uncle Kris and Uncle Cooper?” Mia asked. Mia had a strong desire to know anything and everything, something that was clearly inherited by her mother, as Nate was wont to point out. 

“Nine I think. They’re driving over right after breakfast,” said Bronwyn. Cooper, a pitcher for the San Diego Padres, and Kris, a neurologist, had adopted three daughters from Germany, Kris’s country of origin, triplets named Mina, Lina, and Lilly. When the Rojas-Macauley, Clay-Green, and Myers (Phoebe and Knox Myers) families were together, the total number of girls under the age of ten became eight, because Cosette Myers was only four years old. It was overwhelming for all people involved, including Andrew Myers (age six) and Nick, which is why arrival times were staggered. 

“And Uncle Knox and Aunt Phoebe are coming at eleven,” Nate added. 

The girls, their curiosity satisfied, continued to eat their breakfast calmly until the doorbell rang. “Who’s that?” Mia asked. 

“I’ll get it!” Sophie shouted.

The other three girls ran after Sophie, desperate to see who was at the door. Bronwyn looked at Nate in confusion. They weren’t expecting anyone else. Nate just winked at her and held out his arm to his wife.

“Come along Bronwyn, let’s go greet our guest.”

“Why are you being so weird?” Bronwyn asked, taking his arm and allowing him to lead her to the front door. When Bronwyn’s parents offered Nate and Bronwyn their old house when they moved to Connecticut to be with Bronwyn’s grandparents, Bronwyn was overjoyed. She loved her old house, even if a wing had to be added to compensate for the children. Bronwyn loved being back in Bayview, and she was even more excited when Eli Klienfleter offered her a position at Until Proven, letting her work at the law firm that jump-started her career. 

Bronwyn could hear her daughters talking over each other excitedly and shouting gleefully. Bronwyn, led by Nate, turned the corner to the entrance, where the front door was thrown open to reveal a woman with shining blue eyes and silvery pink hair cut to her chin. She looked up from the girls and her eyes landed on Bronwyn, a slow grin appearing on her face. She stepped forward and opened her arms for a hug.

“Addy!” Bronwyn shouted, disentangling from Nate and running to Addy Prentiss, her best friend since the age of seventeen. The two women hugged for nearly two minutes, their cheeks tear stained and their eyes shining. Bronwyn’s glasses had been knocked off her face, and Anna bent down to pick them up. “When did you get here?” Bronwyn asked when she finally pulled away. 

“My plane landed an hour ago.”

Addy, who had gone to Peru for a summer trip with Maeve sixteen years ago to teach English, had fallen in love with a boy and the country. The relationship with the boy didn’t last, but her relationship with the country did. For the past ten years Addy had been working at the same school she taught at with Maeve all those years ago, and she traveled back to the States only once or twice a year, which was not nearly enough for anyone, especially for the children of her friends, who adored Addy with all their little hearts. 

“I thought you couldn’t come!” Bronwyn seemed only capable of talking in exclamations.

“I know, I know, but I couldn’t miss this. I had vacation days built up.”

“Are you going to invite her in?” Nate asked, elbowing his wife away to hug Addy himself. 

Bronwyn crossed her arms. “You knew about this didn’t you?”

“Obviously,” said Nate, breaking away.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

Nate grinned his famous Macauley grin at his wife, and she could feel her anger ebbing away. “Sorry, honey. But you’ve got to admit, this is going to be a great surprise for everyone else.”

“Yeah,” Bronwyn uncrossed her arms. “Yeah it will be.”

Anna Ashton Rojas-Macauley was not used to being ignored. As the youngest of all the children in her extended family, she usually got all the attention she wanted. But here, an hour and a half before everyone was supposed to leave for the camping trip, she had an important tidbit of information, and no one was listening to her. 

She tried her mother first. Her mom, who was glowing with happiness, was moving between the rooms, making sure food was ready, and tents were packed, and the children were entertained. After tugging on the hem of her jeans for nearly five minutes, her mother finally looked down. “What is it Anna?” She seemed distracted by the phone in her hand. Anna knew there was a checklist or something on it, she had heard her mother telling her dad about it. 

“Mama, look.” Anna pointed out the window, but all Bronwyn saw was the tents on top of her Volvo that had not been secured down properly. 

“Oh honestly I asked Cooper to do that an hour ago. Thanks, honey.”

“But Mama-”

“Sorry, gotta go honey. Ask your dad.” Bronwyn patted the top of Anna’s head and walked off, leaving Anna slightly crestfallen. 

Next, Anna tried her Uncle Kris, who had one of the triplets balanced on his hip. “Hey Anna,” he said when he saw Anna. He turned to the triplet in his arms. “Say hello to Anna, Lina.”

Lina just wrinkled her nose. Kris sighed and turned to Anna. “Sorry Anna Banana, she’s hungry. Tell me later okay, love?”

“Okay.” Anna was a little annoyed now. She tugged on Aunt Phoebe’s skirt next. Phoebe was on the phone, talking to someone. 

“Sorry, Jean. Hold on for a second.” Phoebe pressed her phone into her shoulder. “I have a work call I need to deal with Anna, baby. Go ask Uncle Knox.”

Anna knew that when Principle Myers (whatever a principle was) was on the phone, it took awhile for her to get off. Anna found Uncle Knox with her father and Uncle Cooper in the basement. They were sitting and watching a movie with Andrew, Cosette, Mina, Lilly, Sophie, Mia, and Ellen. The dogs Bandit, Bailey, and Biscuit, all belonging to Uncle Knox and Aunt Phoebe, were lounging on the floor. Anna bypassed Uncle Cooper and Uncle Knox to talk to her father. She climbed into his lap, but had to compete for space with Ellen.

“Dad Anna needs to tell you something.”

Her dad looked away from Ellen, who was explaining her last English class in great detail. “Yes?”

“Can Anna show you something?”

“Of course, darling. Let me just-”

“NATE! There you are! We need your help with something!” That was Aunt Addy, standing in the doorway, beckoning to Nate.

“Okay, be right there. Show me later okay Anna?”

“Okay.” Anna felt like crying. She felt herself being lifted into a lap. 

“What’s wrong, pumpkin?” Uncle Cooper asked.

“Anna-”

“You look hungry. When was the last time you ate?”

“Breakfast, but-”

“Anna, why don’t you go get some food? Go with Cosette and tell Uncle Luis you’re hungry,” Uncle Knox called from the other side of the couch. 

Anna, who never contradicted any adult other than her parents, slid off Uncle Cooper’s lap and followed Cosette into the kitchen, where Uncle Luis was cooking something with his son Nick. Nick looked exactly like his father, except for his eyes, which were amber, like his mother’s. 

“Hey Anna. Hey Cosette. What can I do for you ladies?” 

Both girls giggled. Uncle Luis was lovely because he talked to kids like they were just as old as him.

“I’m hungry, Uncle Luis,” Cosette said.

“Well, I can fix that!” Uncle Luis swung the small girl up onto the kitchen counter. He turned to Anna. “Are you hungry too?”

“No, Anna need-”

“Oh there you are Luis, Bronwyn has been calling you about food. You should probably go check on her.” Aunt Maeve had appeared at the door. 

Luis turned and grinned at his wife. Anna had once overheard her mom tell her dad that no one was more in love with each other than Uncle Luis and Aunt Maeve, and while Sopie believed that it was their parents that got a fairytale ending, Anna secretly thought that her mom was right. Uncle Luis always looked at Aunt Maeve like she was the most wonderful woman in the world, and Anna secretly agreed with her uncle. 

“On it. Will you feed these little monsters, _hermosa_?”

“Absolutely,” Maeve said. She switched places with her husband, and Luis left. “Alright, what do you guys want to eat?”

Anna heard Nick and Cosette start to answer, but she left the kitchen, and climbed up the stairs to her room, which used to belong to Aunt Maeve. Anna climbed up onto the window seat and stared out the window at the ominous rain clouds, the ones she was trying to tell everyone about. The rain started pattering against her window, and she let the tears pooling in her eyes fall over too. Being ignored was a new feeling for Anna, and she didn’t much like it. 

Anna felt that she was sitting in her room ,wallowing in sadness for hours, but since her preschool class was a unit away from learning about clocks, she had no way of knowing that only seven minutes had passed when her mom was knocking on her open door.

“Anna. Baby. May I come in?”

“Sure.”

“Anna, can you tell me what you were going to say earlier?” Anna’s mom sat down next to her and pulled her into her lap. Her mom stroked her black curls and Anna snuggled up against her mother.

“Anna wanted to tell you that Anna saw big clouds.”

“You’re correct honey. It seems that no one bothered to check the weather forecast. And I’m sorry none of us listened to you.”

“Although if I recall correctly, you didn’t tell me,” said a new voice from the door. Aunt Maeve was leaning against the door frame. “May I come in?”

Both mother and daughter nodded. Maeve dropped onto the window seat and stretched her arms over her head.

“Miss it here?” Anna’s mom asked jokingly.

Aunt Maeve shrugged. “Sometimes. I’m happy in San Francisco though.”

“Happy with Luis you mean.”

“And Nick. And my job.” Aunt Maeve paused, and grinned a goofy, moony grin. “And with Luis, yeah.”

“You guys are so in love.”

“Like you and Nate?”

“Precisely.”

Anna didn’t quite understand the adults in her life, but she sure did adore them. “What are we gonna do about the camping trip?” She asked.

Aunt Maeve pulled her small feet into her lap, and grinned. “Leave it to Aunt Maeve baby.”

It took next to no effort on Maeve’s part to get her friends and family to create a campsite in the living room for the kids. But it did take _a lot_ of effort to keep the kids in the basement while the campsite was set up. Maeve thought it would be rude to lock them in, so it took a lot of TV and bribing to keep them on the couch. She was beyond relieved when Knox stuck his head through the door and said, “You guys can come!”

That was all the encouragement the kids needed. They stampeded up the stairs and stopped in their tracks when they saw the living room. The lights were off, and black curtains that looked suspiciously like dresses were drawn over the bay windows and the sliding door that led to the deck. All the fairy lights from Sophie’s room and Mia’s room were strung across the ceiling, omitting a warm glow. The shaggy green carpet that had been unanimously stuck in the second guest room by the Rojas-Macauley family was spread across the hardwood floor, and the furniture had been pushed against the walls. Various pillows and blankets were used to make four large tent-like structures, one for each family Maeve assumed. The tall potted plants in the den had been brought into the living room to emulate trees, and if Maeve squinted, she could almost imagine being at the campsite. 

Luis sidled up to Maeve’s side and wrapped an arm around her waist. “What do you think?” Maeve turned to look into his deep brown eyes. 

“It’s perfect!”

“The kids seem to think so too.”

This was true. They were all admiring the “stars” and the “trees” and everything in between. 

Maeve couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy, or laughed this hard. Cooper came up with a safe indoor version of baseball, which all the children participated in with perhaps too much enthusiasm, and Knox supplied everyone with exceptional music from his curated Spotify playlist (perks of running a theatre Maeve supposed). They ate pizza (the only thing all the children would eat) sitting cross legged on the “grass”, and Luis and Maeve roasted marshmallows on skewers over the stove in the kitchen. The marshmallows were such a treat that the children were diplomatic enough to overlook the fact that all of the marshmallows Maeve toasted were either burned or cold (although they did give a hearty cheer when Maeve was demoted to sticking the marshmallows on skewers while Kris toasted them).

After everyone had their fill of dessert and they had changed into their pajamas, Nate and Addy sent the kids to sleep with enough horror stories to terrify a grownup. All the parents sat in the living room until every child was asleep, and then they quietly tiptoed into the kitchen, where Bronwyn rummaged around the fridge and cabinets. She turned back to the large center island with two bottles in her hands. “We have wine and apple juice. What do you guys want?”

“Hot chocolate,” said Maeve.

Phoebe pointed at Maeve. “I like the way you think, Santos.”

“Thank you.”

Maeve set about making the hot chocolate, something she was actually good at making, thanks to how much her nieces and son loved it.

“This was fun,” said Addy, leaning back in her chair. 

“Worth the plane trip?” Cooper asked teasingly.

“Absolutely.”

“Do you really think our teenage selves would have imagined ourselves here?” Bronwyn asked seriously.

“I doubt it,” said Nate. “Would I have imagined a wonderful wife and four daughters who never let me catch a break?”

“Never.” Cooper agreed. Nate punched him lightly in the shoulder.

“Right. Like would I have imagined that I would marry a guy with four brothers? I went from having one sister to having _five_ sisters and _five_ brothers.” Maeve leaned against the counter and crossed her arms.

“To be fair, you thought your crush on Luis was one sided,” Phoebe said. 

“It was not,” Luis said.

“Clearly,” said Kris. “And would I have believed someone if they told me I’d marry the pitcher for the Padres and then we’d adopt triplets?”

“Nope. I still don’t believe it,” said Cooper.

“I never thought I’d be happy without a husband.” Addy added.

“You don’t need a man, babe.” Bronwyn said. This was her response any time Addy brought up her old need to get a husband. 

“I know.”

“I never _dreamed_ I’d end up with Phoebe. She’s _still_ way out of my league.” Knox said as Maeve handed around mugs of hot chocolate. 

“Untrue,” Phoebe mumbled into her hot cocoa mug. Maeve set down the empty pan and slid onto the stool between her husband and sister. 

“We’re lucky,” she said, voicing a thought that had been bouncing around her head all afternoon. 

“We are,” Luis agreed, sliding his hand into hers. Maeve knew that on Monday, her oncologist would send back her blood test results. She knew that she had her blood tested every so often. That fact didn’t stop her from panicking every year, though. She couldn’t lose all these lovely people.

“We should do this every year. Who needs the great outdoors anyway?” Addy said after a few moments. Bronwyn looked like she was about to argue that nature was vital, or something like that, but she was cut off by the sound of Nick’s voice.

“ _Mom_. There’s a _monster_!”

Maeve sighed and put down her mug. “We should take care of that.”

“Yep,” Kris agreed as everyone stood up and headed towards the living room. Maeve hung back for a moment and listened to the sounds of her friends soothing their kids as Luis bravely volunteered to find the monster. 

She was lucky all right.


End file.
